ibjoe

This previously common belief likely came from the fact that you cannot get chickenpox twice. People conflated "immunity to catching chickenpox again" with "immunity to the virus altogether," not realizing the virus was simply hiding and waiting to reactivate as shingles. Proof that chickenpox and shingles were caused by the same virus wasn't established until the 1950s. While childhood chickenpox is the cause of adult shingles, regularly being around kids with chickenpox helped prevent it for many years due to boosting immune system. Now we have a vaccine for that.

I though Thai routinely vaccinated children? My Thai stepdaughter had all hers on time. Vaccines are the single most successful medical invention in human history, no other medical invention has saved more lives and reduced suffering, including antibiotics. Unfortunately there is a strong anti-vaccine movement these days, based on social media and ignorance.

March 2023 I applied for CR1 visa for my wife, and CR2 visa for her minor child. We chose CR1 (marriage) visa instead of K1 (fiancé) visa because it allows faster path to USA citizenship, essentially they get their Green Cards (Permanent Resident) upon arrival, and can take the citizen test in 2+ years. We used an agency (TSL in Bangkok), it was necessary for us, as the process was long and complicated, I couldn't have done it on my own. It took almost a year for our applications to be approved by USCIS (US Customs and Immigration Service) and sent to US NVC (National Visa Center) for processing. It took a few more months for the interviews, prior to which they both had to undergo health and background checks. The first interview was cancelled because while my wife recovered from TB a long time ago, her chest x-rays showed scarring, she had to undergo another several weeks of additional testing. Finally in August 2024 they completed their interviews, were approved, and got their CR1/CR2 visas. We immediately flew to USA to begin our life together here. Since then they have been model citizens, contributing to community and economy. Soon this year we need to apply for 10 year green cards before the 2 year green cards expire, after which they are eligible to take USA citizen test. I feel sorry for anyone trying to bring their spouse / family to USA from Thailand now, and concerned for my own family's status in this new USA administration promoting fear and loathing about and to new immigrants to our country. While we would like to visit Thailand, and technically it shouldn't be an issue, we don't want to take the chance of not being allowed back into our country, we will stay home for now.

This is an unjust election, organized against the will of the people. It is the military pretending to swap uniforms for civilian clothes and keep their power. The United Nations, European Union, and various human rights organizations have condemned these elections as a sham, noting that major opposition parties like the NLD have been dissolved and their leaders remain imprisoned. A sad day when the Myanmar military unjustly took control of the civilian elected government for their personal gain. The 2021 Myanmar coup began on February 1, 2021, when the military (Tatmadaw) seized control from the democratically elected government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD). Nearly five years later, as of late December 2025, the military remains in power under Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, though its control is fragmented by an ongoing civil war. On February 1, 2021 - the day the new parliament was to be sworn in - the military detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other top NLD officials. The military claimed widespread fraud in the November 2020 general election, in which the NLD won a landslide victory. These claims were categorically rejected by the Union Election Commission and independent observers. The ruling military junta is only for themselves, oppressing the Myanmar population. They should be put down.

I like https://somafm.com/ Eclectic music of many genres.. Listener supported (I send them $20/month, better deal than SiriusXM IMO)..

555 Ha Ha Ha like LOL (Laughing Out Loud). Because 5 in Thai is pronounced Hah My favorite.

https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/book

There is a good book about this: https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/book . My adopted Thai child is addicted to her devices. We have strict rules about when she can use them, but she still gets in many hours a day. Some of it is good fun on games and other apps with other children, but I worry about predators. We periodically review Social Media Safety rules.

There is no honor in killing, only shame. No respect for murderers.

Sex workers should have legalization and social support: rights and respect for sex workers. But that won't happen, there is too much resistance from the people exploiting the workers i.e. operators who want to keep their profits high, paid / bribed politicians / law enforcement, customers who want to keep prices low, and social conservatives. As long as the "world's oldest profession" trade remains illegal, workers will be exploited and trafficked. Sex work should be legal, regulated, and licensed, with oversight by social workers to ensure all workers are doing it by choice and not coercion.

The post title is wrong. It should be "Will Kamala Denounce the Anti-Genocide Protestors?". I don't condone the attack on Israel, but I understand the motivation. The Israels have been oppressing the Palestinians for decades, treating them like the Nazis treated the Jews, and nobody should be treated like that.

I forgot to note: I told the bank all the funds were originally transferred to them from my USA bank, in Baht. That seemed to be a requirement for me to transfer the funds back to USA.

I transferred about ฿800,000 to my USA bank account from my Krungthai account using wire transfer. I just gave them my USA bank routing number and account number. We visited Krungthai main branch in Bangkok. It took a couple of hours, filling out papers, etc. I apparently had to change account type, close old account and open new one, but it was transparent, same account number, etc. They charged ฿1000 fee for the transfer. This was the same USA account I had been using to transfer money TO my Krungthai account, using wire transfers, on regular basis. My bank never charged transfer fee to send, though Krungthai charged a small fee to receive; but my USA bank did charge a $15 fee to receive this transfer. The transfer to USD was quick, about 2 days. The transfers to Krungthai were slower, typically 3 to 5 days.

Had to read through the posts a bit to figure out that Thai wife got visitor visa to UK.. (could have been to another country e.g. AU, US, NZ, etc., or maybe even Thailand, heading wasn't clear). Thank you for your report.

I have one CC on a USA bank I use for all my international travel as it offers significant perks, like no foreign transaction fees, etc. It's been defrauded three times. I have my bank's app which I set to immediately notify me of any charge on that card. The first time hundreds of dollars for various things overnight (my phone on do not disturb, so I didn't get the notices). I called the bank immediately, they canceled the card, credited my account for the fraud charges, and sent me a new card. Which took a long time for me to get because my friend had to forward it to me in Thailand. The second time was surprising because I had only bought a few reputable travel things online, but was quickly alerted by my bank app, and again the bank quickly credited my account and sent me a new card. Then I learned that I can lock my card with the app. Now I keep that card locked all the time, and only open it to make a purchase after which I immediately lock it again. The third time I got some notifications from the app of small (less than a dollar) unauthorized transactions, which I realize are "test" transactions that scammers do to verify it before hitting it big time. They didn't go through because my card was locked. I told the bank, they immediately sent me a replacement card. Now I realize my card WILL be scammed occasionally, and my defense is to keep it locked. It's a slight inconvenience every time at Lotus, 7-11, online travel companies, etc. to unlock it during each use, but is a small price to pay to avoid getting scammed, again.

From 1944 to 1971 the dollar was backed by gold, and so was the international choice, per the Bretton Woods Agreement. But then, unfortunately, USA president Richard Nixon cancelled that, making the dollar fiat currency (it has no intrinsic worth, it's only value is what people agree on). This fiat dollar is great for financial corporate games to extract money from the system, including by inflation. As usual, this means poor people get poorer while rich people get richer. Poorer people generally do actual work, providing services and products. Rich people generally parasitically extract money from the system e.g. by corporate / financial investments, etc. without doing any actual work. That's they way the game is, if you don't participate e.g. by investing, etc. then you slowly lose. Inflation generally rises faster than wages, so if you are a worker your effective income continually diminishes. If your cash isn't invested in something with a return rate at least as much as inflation, then it's losing value. USA government has the "I-Bond", which guarantees return of at least inflation, but only $10k per calendar year investment is allowed. My physical gold and silver has slightly bettered inflation.

I've had knee problems for many years. One supplement that helps me a lot is Glucosamine (sulfate / chondroitin). I understand it doesn't work for everyone. It takes a few weeks for me to notice the effect (and a few weeks to notice the effect if I stop eating it daily). This supplement can help rebuild cartilage (and thin cartilage is what my knee problem is). Also helpful for me are exercises that strengthen the stabilizing muscles. And any of the patella supports, I prefer the tube with a hole for patella, this stabilizes them, but even just the strap under patella helps. Now my knees are generally okay, as long as I keep eating Glucosamine, but if I walk too much they go bad, not more than a few km per day. Walking too much wears my cartilage faster than my old body can maintain it. Best of luck.

We were at BKK when this happened. Looking out the window of my airplane waiting for take off I wondered why there were so many emergency vehicles with red and blue lights, learned about the issue later after landing. Our flights were delayed. We always wear our seat belts snugly the entire flight, except for quick trip to lavatory if necessary. I try to stay dehydrated for long flights to minimize such trips.

Sad about the deaths this year due to rocket malfunction. I was there in 2023 and noted one rocket malfunction, but no one was hurt. Eventually authorities / organizers may limit the size of these rockets for safety reasons. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/358898/rocket-dives-into-crowd-at-kalasin-rocket-festival

Lead hasn't been allowed in fuel for decades. The octane is set by specific formulation, not by adding lead.

Higher octane gas burns slower which may be necessary for certain higher performance engines. Many modern vehicles can detect the type of fuel, and if higher octane fuel is used can provide slightly increased performance e.g. by additional spark advance in the ECU, but will accommodate lower octane fuel just fine. If you don't care about a tiny performance difference, and your vehicle doesn't have symptoms e.g "knock" or "ping" with lower octane, it's fine to use. If your vehicle isn't tuned for higher octane fuel, using it is a waste, and can actually decrease performance (because it burns slower).

Right click on taskbar speaker icon to get "Open Volume Mixer" dialog, same as Settings - System - Sounds - Volume mixer. Since a recent Windows update I've had problems with Windows capriciously setting apps to very low levels. First thing I do with low / no audio problem is check Windows Volume Mixer settings. For safety I leave Windows Updates on, let the monthly update install, and remain aware that sometimes it creates problems.

I wanted authentic Thai massage, but all the local shops looked sketchy. I finally found a shop that looked legit. Sign on the door saying "NO sexual services". Thai people inside getting foot / neck / etc. massages. I enter and say I want authentic Thai massage, lady says no problem, take off your clothes and lie down here. About ten minutes in she says, "and what kind of sex do you want with your authentic Thai massage?". After some reiteration, I finally get Thai massage without sex. And, I've had better Thai massage. I learned that I need to be more careful about picking massage establishments. And I've noticed the legitimate ones have higher posted prices.

Many people will agree with your "ignorance is bliss" statement. And many people do care and do take personal actions to mitigate this ongoing climate change problem. Things YOU personally can do *now* are reduce your energy consumption, make your home energy efficient, choose vehicles with good MPG or are electric, choose high efficiency appliances, turn off things when not in use. Disposition your fossil fuels investments if you have them. Raise awareness by discussing the issues with friends and family, join activist groups. Also, reduce or stop eating meat - animal agriculture creates more greenhouse gas than transportation. Thank you to those who care, for being part of the solution, and not part of the problem.

I've taken Starlux (Taiwan) a couple of times, and the experiences were good. TPE (Taoyuan) Airport is very nice, each gate with a beautiful theme. Once the arriving flight was late, at the arriving gate staff ran us through the airport to connecting flight. I was concerned about luggage also connecting, but no issues. My EVA experience was also good. ANA and Cathay were okay.